Babaker Zebari

Babakir Baderkhan Shawkat Zebari (Kurdish: بابەکر بەدرخان شەوکەت زێباری) is a retired Iraqi Kurdish General and former KDP politician . Zebari was chief of staff of the Iraqi Army from 2004 till 2015.

Babakir Baderkhan Shawkat Zebari
Native name	بابەکر بەدرخان شەوکەت زێباری
Born	1947 Mosul, Kingdom of Iraq
Allegiance	Iraq (1970–1973) KDP (1973–2003) Iraq (2003–2015)
Service / branch	Iraqi Ground Forces
Years of service	1970–2015
Rank	General
Commands	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Iraq
Battles / wars	Second Iraqi–Kurdish War 1991 uprisings in Iraq Iraq War Operation Phantom Phoenix
Awards	Barzani Award Legion of Merit

Education

Zebari's military education includes Light Air Defense Artillery Course, Iraqi Commando School, Thunderbolt School (Ranger), Airborne School, and Battlefielding (Special Forces). He is trained on several Anti-Tank weapon systems to include COBRA, SSII, and SAKER.

Career

Zebari began his military career in 1970 after graduating from the Rustamiyah Military Academy in Baghdad at a time when Kurdish citizens were scarcely allowed to serve at all. Upon completion of the Light Air Defense Artillery Course, General Babakir went to Jordan where he served as a platoon commander in an Iraqi Light Air Defense Artillery Battalion.

From 1971 until 1973, he served in a variety of leadership and technical positions in Baghdad, Taji, and Habiniyah, Iraq. By 1973, he determined that he could no longer remain in the Iraqi Army due to the unjust policies of the Baathist government. He left the Iraqi Army and joined the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) under the leadership of Mulla Mustafa Barzani.

Zebari served as a combat company commander with the 1st Brigade of the Peshmerga in Galala. He later transferred to the Bahdinan Region (Dahuk) where he served as Deputy Commander of the only artillery battalion in the 1st Army of Peshmerga. Later, he was assigned as a Deputy Commander of the Ammadiyah Brigade.

After the Treaty of Algiers and Kurdish guerrilla's loss in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War, Zebari and his family asked for political asylum in Iran and moved to Karaj near Tehran. In 1979, he returned to Iraq and rejoined the Kurdish struggle as the Military Commander of the Peshmerga Headquarters and a member of the KDP Military office. In 1989, he became a member of the Central Committee of the KDP in charge of the Liaison Office with the Government of Iraq. Between 1980 and 1991, Zebari commanded the Shekhan and Aqra districts in Kurdistan.

In 1991, Zebari was the commander of all Kurdish forces in the Dohuk and Mosul districts and participated in the 1991 uprising against the Baathist government in Iraq following the Gulf War. In this position he was responsible for military liaison between the Kurdistan region, Turkey, and Iraq.

During the Iraq War, he played a major role in the assistance of Coalition Forces operating within the Kurdistan region. In 2004, he was selected to serve as the Commanding General and Chief of Staff, Iraqi Joint Forces. He is fluent in Kurdish, Arabic, and Persian.

In 2015, Zebari was removed from his post following the military's poor performance in the War in Iraq (2013-17).

Decorations and Badges

• Barzani Award
• Legion of Merit (United States)